Chapter 7 - Friends

Harry's in a great mood when he starts heading back to his dorm. After two weeks at UA, he's finally made the first solid move towards getting into the hero course. He might have been wasting years of his time trying to learn a style of fighting not suited to him, but now, with Eraserhead, he can get back on track.

And surely not all the things I learned with Remus will be useless.

Even knowing that he hadn't really done anything to get Eraserhead to agree to train him, at least not by way of any conscious decision making on his part, he can't help but feel accomplished. Eraserhead is one of the best martial artists around, and if Harry heeds his lessons, it will go a long way towards becoming a powerful hero. All he needs to do now is get down to designing new tools, and Omni. Today, the first real day of classes, is the perfect day to start.

He's still not used to having other people around campus, other than Tom of course, but it's getting nearer to the start of class, and students can be seen all over the grounds. Harry has to rush back to his room and get changed before he ends up late to class. Snape hasn't been as bad as Harry had thought he would be so far, but he's not about to test the man's already limited patience.

Like yesterday when he had returned to the dorm, the door is wide open, and two voices can be heard inside. One is most definitely Shouto, but surprisingly the other is- "Momo!" Harry exclaims happily as he enters the room. "What are you doing here?"

Momo looks up from her conversation with Shouto and smiles at Harry with a small wave. "Hey!" she says. "I wanted to check out your new room, since you've been here for two weeks already and haven't invited me," she jokes, though Harry can tell she's at least a little miffed.

Harry rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry. It's been a really hectic couple of weeks. I barely had a minute to myself."

Momo smiles. "Don't worry, I get it. Just messing with you," she laughs. She looks between Harry and Shouto, who has already turned away from the conversation and is packing books away in a small backpack. "I can't believe the two of you are roommates."

I don't think she means because he's a Todoroki. "You know each other?" Harry asks, surprised.

Momo nods rapidly. "Of course! My family is one of the Endeavour Hero Agency's biggest contributors. We've known each other since we were children. Isn't that right, Shouto?"

Shouto slings his bag up onto his back and over one shoulder before he turns around to face them. "Yes" he answers simply. "I'll see you in class, Yaoyorozu." Before either of them can say anything else, he's stalking past them and out into the hallway. It's surprisingly comforting to see Shouto be so disinterested with someone else. At least that means that it's not Harry specifically that has him acting in that way. Momo waves goodbye, completely unsurprised at Shouto's abrupt farewell.

"Is he always like that?" Harry asks.

Momo nods once, a little sadly. "Has been for as long as I've known him."

Harry sighs. "He was quite clear when I met him yesterday that he doesn't want to be friends."

Momo raises an eyebrow, now seeming genuinely surprised. "Really? I've known him a long time, but I've never seen him be openly unkind before."

Harry shakes his head. "He wasn't, really. He was quite nice about it actually." He scowls. "Well, as nice as someone can be when they say they aren't interested in being friends" he adds.

"Weird," Momo says. "But give him a chance, Shouto isn't a bad person. His father is very strict with him."

Is that why he said it's complicated why he moved into the dorms? Harry brushes aside the nosy thoughts. He shrugs. "It doesn't really matter that much in the end anyway. I'm really only here to sleep most days. That'll be especially true now," he says, thinking of his training with Eraserhead.

Momo frowns. "Why are you so busy all the time? Surely you, of all people, can handle the work in support classes."

Harry shakes his head in disagreement. "It's not the work itself, just time constraints. And now I've got a new martial arts trainer as well."

At Momo's raised eyebrow, Harry begins to tell her of his encounters with Eraserhead. By the end, the girl is practically jumping up and down with excitement. Once again, he can't help but realise how lucky he is to have her as his friend. With most people, Momo is really quite reserved and formal, but she really lets her walls down with Harry, and lets him see the real and true version of herself.

"Your getting trained by Aizawa-sensei? Do you have any idea how lucky you are?" She cries.

Harry nods seriously. "It won't be long now, Momo. Once I've built some tools and Omni's had more programming, I'll join you in the hero course." He feels utterly sure that it's a true statement.


"I see. My altered code suggests you intend to install me into a more effective communication device than via the smart phone application you developed," Omni says through Harry's earphones.

Omni's not wrong. It's always been Harry's intention to transfer the artificial intelligence to a device more suitable for immediate communication. Since any design he will make for himself ultimately rests on the presence of Omni, being able to easily talk to it is absolutely essential. It's hardly practical to whip his phone out every time he needs to use one of his tools, or even to talk to the artificial intelligence.

"That's right," Harry types back. He doesn't want his classmates to think he's crazy and talking to himself, so he's forced to type his responses back to the program. It's true that he could simply explain that he's designing an artificial intelligence, and that's what he's talking to, but he wants to keep Omni as much of a secret as possible. His reasoning is about more than just the fact that many people doubt the wisdom in creating artificial intelligence. The fact is, if he wants to become an effective hero, he can't do it without Omni, and announcing that he's making one might just end up being something that a villain could one day use against him.

"Might I suggest some sort of helmet, or perhaps a larger visor?" Omni says. Harry smiles. Despite having been the one to code the intelligence, Omni still surprises him ridiculously often. He's been thinking the exact same thing that it's just suggested. A helmet or visor is the ideal solution. It could serve as adequate protection for his head, can be soundproofed so that nobody else can hear Omni's voice, and Harry would be free to install other devices inside it, such as the thermal detection device that had already assisted him invaluably in the fire.

"I was thinking the same thing. I'll have to get started on some blueprints," he types.

It's not the only blueprint he needs to get started on. There are countless ideas flying around his head, and before he even tries to get into the hero course, he wants to create them all. He's never going to get into the hero course if he's only just as good as the people already enrolled in it. He needs to be exceptional, and his tools need to allow him to adapt to almost any situation. If he's going to succeed, he needs to build everything, and have every possible advantage.

"What are you doing?" Snape's oily voice asks behind him. The black feathered man is standing behind the entrance to Harry's cubicle workstation, looking in with an irritated expression.

"I'm-" Harry hesitates, sensing from the man that he's done something wrong. "Well I'm doing some self design. You said that's what we were doing now that we've finished the academic classes today, right?" Harry asks, wondering what he could have done wrong.

"It doesn't look like you're designing," Snape accuses, eyeing Harry's computer screen warily.

Harry sighs. He probably should have expected something like this. Looking at it now, it seems strange that Snape would make such a big deal out about Omni in the interview, and then suddenly be fine with Harry working on it in class. He should've known it wouldn't be that easy. "I am, though," Harry argues. I'm working on… my project," he emphasises the word so that Snape will know what he's talking about.

Snape clicks his tongue. "I know exactly what you're working on, and what I meant by self design was actually designing tools, not… other projects."

Well you really should have been clearer about that. Harry has to fight the urge to roll his eyes. After the way Snape had carried on about Omni in the interview, it's pretty clear why he actually wants Harry to focus on something else.

Like hell I'm going to stop working on Omni just because you want me to.

"This is meant for a tool," Harry argues.

Snape shakes his head, muttering crossly. "But it's not one itself, now is it?" he asks rhetorically. "Find something to build." Snape walks away with heavy footsteps, muttering all the while about "Stupid, reckless Potters."

Potters? Has he had to deal with Nick already? No… it's only been a few hours into Nick's first day. Perhaps he knows Mum or Dad?"

A chime sounds through Harry's earphones, letting him know that he's received a private message through the school's communication system between students.

It's from Tom. "That wouldn't happen if you'd just agree to collaborate on a project with me," it reads.

Harry does roll his eyes at that message. He's yet to give Tom a straight answer on his proposition. It's not that he disagrees with the other boy; in fact he rather agrees that they would be able to build some extraordinary things together. Harry's just not sure whether Tom wants Harry to work with him for the reasons he'd laid out or not. Whatever else he might be otherwise, Harry is absolutely certain that Tom is very driven, and would step right over Harry for the top spot if the opportunity was given to him.

"I already told you, I'll think about it," Harry types back. If Harry were sure he could trust him, he wouldn't actually mind working with him; but with Harry trying to get into the hero course, he's really got enough on his plate already. And now Snape won't even let him design the one thing he really needs to get into the hero course.

The chime sounds again. "Don't think for too long, or I'll build all the good stuff without you," his next message reads.

Harry smirks. As always Tom is absolutely brimming with bravado, though Harry knows he can probably back up those words. The smirk fades, and Harry begins to scowl. Tom isn't the immediate problem. The real problem is his teacher. He could go to Professor Dumbledore, who seems to fully support Harry's creation of Omni, but that should really be a last resort, considering how hard Snape could make his life in the Support course if he were given legitimate reason. No, he needs to know more about Snape, perhaps give him a reason to let him continue on programming Omni.

Perhaps it's time to visit Mum and Dad…


The school's cafeteria is absolutely packed with students come lunchtime. The room is located in the very centre of the school, nestled comfortably between, and connected to, all the four different schools. It's the one area of the school where students from all four courses congregate daily.

Harry scans the room for familiar faces. He sees his brother on the opposite side, sitting with the same small circle of friends he'd had in middle school, the same group of friends that had done everything they could to make Harry's life as difficult as possible. He hasn't spoken to his brother since moving into the dorms, and he knows Nick is likely still angry that he had moved out at all, but Harry's got no intention of approaching him whilever his 'friends' are around.

He keeps looking across the room until his eyes land on Momo, who's already seen him and is waving him over emphatically. "Hey!" she says happily when he makes his way over. She's sitting at a long table with a group of people Harry assumes to be her new classmates.

"Guys, I want to introduce you to someone," she says to them.

One of the group, a boy with spiky red hair, gives her a strange look. "Uhm, we already know Nick, Yaoyorozu," he points out. "He's in our class."

Harry smiles, but doesn't answer, instead pointing over to where Nick sits at the other side of the cafeteria. The entire group all turn to look where he's pointing.

"Oh cool," the red haired boy turns back to him. "You're a twin!"

Harry nods, a little amused. Despite the fact that he and Nick aren't actually identical twins, people nevertheless still manage to confuse them occasionally. Objectively speaking, they do look remarkably alike, but anyone who knows them personally would be able to tell them apart easily.

"Yes, he is," Momo tells him with a slight scowl and an annoyed tone. "This is Harry, not Nick."

"Oh, right," the boy says, utterly nonplussed by Momo's irritated reaction to his mistake. "I'm Kirishima, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Harry says, sitting down at the table.

"And this is Tsuyu Asui," Momo introduces a frog looking girl sitting opposite her. She looks so frog-like that Harry assumes it's something to do with her quirk.

"Call me Tsu," the girl says simply. She kind of sounds like a frog, too.

Over the next few minutes, Harry is introduced to the entire group sitting at the table. First is Kyoka Jirou, a dark haired girl with short dark hair, and skin coloured Audio cables hanging from her earlobes. It takes Harry a moment to realise they actually are her earlobes.

Next is Ojiro Mashirao, a fairly large boy with short blonde hair. He has the end of a large and muscular looking tail hanging over his shoulder.

Then there's Mina Ashido, a girl with bright pink skin and yellow eyes. The sclera in her eyes are black, rather than white, making her yellow irises show all the more prominently. There are short yellow antenna protruding out the top of of her unruly pink hair.

Harry feels like he already knows the last one to be introduced. "You're Denki Kaminari?" Harry asks after Momo says his name. He's been eager to meet one of the people who he'd put in so much effort for, though in truth Katsuki's had required much more time and thought than Kaminari's.

"Uhm, yes?" He answers, clearly confused as to how Harry knows him.

"I designed your costume!" Harry tells him happily. "I really hope you like it. It took quite some time."

Kaminari's face lights up with excitement. "Oh really? None of us have seen our costumes yet. Is it cool? Will it work? Every time I try to use my quirk in normal clothes I end up burning them off," he admits with a slight grin.

Harry nods enthusiastically. "Oh it'll work. I threw some serious voltage at it… didn't leave a scratch," he says, feeling just a little smug.

"Yes! You're awesome!" Kaminari yells, standing up from his seat and throwing a fist into the air.

Harry's not sure whether he should tell Kaminari what he wants to tell him. The instructions they had been given in creating the costumes had been quite clear. They were only to construct them by following the specific instructions given by the hero students. Kaminari had only asked for a costume that could withstand his high voltage, but Harry knows he could have created a costume with far more potential. He even has general designs planning for such, though in the end he wasn't allowed to include them in the final product.

I might not have been allowed to include it, but nobody said anything about telling him about it.

"But," Harry adds uncertainly, causing the cheering boy to stop and look down at him worriedly. "Don't you want more combat capability?" The boy turns his head slightly sideways and sits back down.

"I wanted to include a few… extras to your costume, but I wasn't really allowed to make big decisions like that without you specifically asking for them. My idea was to generally give you more ranged potential towards specific targets. You would even be able to control the voltage," Harry explains.

Kaminari's eyes widen. "You could do that?" He asks.

Harry nods once. "Sure! Tell you what, give us both a couple of weeks to settle in, and then put in another application. I'll get you sorted out," Harry promises.

"That would be awesome!" Kaminari cries happily.

Harry shrugs. "It's no problem."

No problem at all for a future classmate of mine, Harry promises himself. There's no guarantee that he will end up in Class 1A, assuming he can get into the hero course at all, but he hopes he does. Years of middle school and the only friend he has to show for it is Momo. One official day after the first two support weeks and he's already found people he'd like to be friends with.

"You must be pretty smart to be able to do all that, especially just being a first year support student," Tsu comments after a moment. Harry's about to answer, but Momo beats him to it.

"Harry's a genius," she says simply, as if it's the easiest title to quantify in the world. Harry feels the blood rush to his face, and he raises his hand to the back of his neck, embarrassed. He doesn't dispute her.

"But I thought you'd be in the hero course, like in class 1B maybe," Kirishima says. "You and your brother's quirk's is pretty amazing." It's a natural assumption. Most twins do end up with the same quirks, after all.

And now comes the moment to decide whether they're worth being friends with.

"Actually, I'm quirkless," Harry says. As always when he announces his status to someone, he says it without any hint of shame, just daring people to say something negative about it.

To Harry's surprise, Kirishima laughs, though he doesn't seem to be laughing at Harry. "Well it's a good thing you're so smart then!" he says.

Momo shakes her head and rolls her eyes. Harry lets out a small laugh. "I guess it is."

Well that's better than him suddenly thinking I'm pathetic. At least he didn't say I don't belong at UA. Harry remembers the exact reaction that Seamus and Dudley had when they found out about Harry's scholarship.

Actually, Harry had had a careful eye on the entire group as he'd told them, and he didn't detect even a single expression of disgust, or god forbid, pity. They'd reacted to the news as if he'd instead said that he's a Leo star sign. It's just a simple fact about him, nothing more, nothing less, and he's glad that that's the exact thought they seem to have about it, too.

He's not all that surprised when the bell rings, signalling the end of lunch and the beginning of next class. He'd stayed in the workshop for the majority of time allocated for lunch. He hadn't intended to, but once he'd stopped programming Omni per Snape's order and begun designing his newest tool, time simply slipped away from him.

"Well, it was cool meeting you guys," Harry says as they all get up from their table.

"Yeah! Thanks again for creating my costume. I can't wait to see it," Kaminari says, not reigning in his excitement even a little.

"Simmer down, idiot," Kyoka chastises, flicking his forehead.

"Is it okay if I come to visit later?" Momo asks Harry, ignoring the now bickering pair.

Harry shakes his head. "If you're free, come tomorrow instead. I'm going home to visit after school today," Harry says.

Momo looks up quickly in surprise. Harry can't really blame her for the reaction. Whenever Harry has an issue with his family, Momo's always the one he tells about it, so she knows his complicated feelings about them better than pretty much anyone. "Really?" She asks.

Before Harry can answer, there's a voice speaking from behind him. "Really?" Harry knows it's Nick before he even turns around.

"Hey Nick," Harry says happily. It is genuinely good to see his brother. It hasn't struck him until now, but the past two weeks is the longest time he's ever had apart from his twin. Thankfully, he's not with his so called friends. Momo briefly touches Harry on the shoulder in farewell and begins to head back to class. Most of the cafeteria is empty by now.

"Are you really coming home later?" Nick asks. Harry can't mistake the hopeful look in his eyes.

I should have called him. All he wants is the chance to reconnect.

"Sure am, but just for a visit," Harry clarifies, not wanting to give his brother the wrong idea. Now especially, with Eraserhead having agreed to train him, Harry can't afford to move out of the dorms.

"Good. I thought you might've forgotten about us," Nick answers, giving Harry a slightly hurt look.

Harry feels a pang of guilt in his stomach. I deserved that. "Sorry, I've been really busy. Today's the first day since I got here that I've even had the chance," Harry says. It's not a lie, but Harry knows he should have spared a moment or two to visit his family, at the very least to call them.

Nick shakes his head. "Don't be. Just promise you'll come home today," he says.

Harry nods seriously. "I promise." There's a smile on Nick's face as he walks away, heading to his last classes of the day.

Harry stalks off in the opposite direction, back towards the support building. As soon as he's out of the cafeteria and into the empty hallway beyond, he gets pushed from behind, hard. Harry staggers forward, but manages to remain on his feet. He turns around, dropping instantly into a fighting stance.

As soon as he sees who the culprits are, he drops the stance with a dreary sigh. "What the hell do you two want?" he asks in a resigned voice. Seamus and Dudley leer back at him.

"Your brother was upset when he saw you in the cafeteria without even saying hello to him. I don't know why he worries about someone like you, but we're his friends, and we should teach you a lesson about being a better brother," Seamus says.

Harry almost wants to laugh at the reason they've given for being there. "Like you've ever needed a reason to give me shit. Don't pretend to care about Nick. If you did you'd probably be a little nicer to me."

"Nicer to a quirkless little freak like you? I don't think so. They shouldn't even let your kind through the front gate of this school," Dudley says.

Harry smiles at him, though its all mocking. "Quirkless freak like me? That's not very nice. Isn't your mum quirkless? How is dear old Aunt Petunia?" He asks, trying to sound genuinely interested. Dudley goes white as a sheet of paper. He's always hated any reminder that he's related to not just one, but two quirkless people.

"Dudley's mum isn't pretending to be something she's not. You're still trying to be important by coming to UA, but you'll never amount to anything" Seamus argues.

Harry shrugs. "Maybe you're right and they shouldn't let people like me into UA, but they definitely shouldn't let people like you in."

Dudley laughs. "This school is filled with people with quirks. There'd be nobody left."

Dudley never has been overly bright. It's a miracle he passed the written exam to get into UA. "No no no," Harry says casually, shaking his head. "I don't mean people with quirks. I mean they shouldn't let people who are massive assholes into the school."

The shocked look on both of their faces is priceless. Not once in all the years that they've been tormenting Harry has he ever lashed back at them quite like this. The odd quip here and there, sure, but never anything more than that. It feels fantastic. Seamus' hand begins to glow, and Dudley begins to back up slowly, ready to run at Harry and activate his charge quirk.

So be it. Harry's not going to back down from them. Not here, not at UA. He got into this school too, just like them, regardless of what course they're in. They're not better than him. They not better than me. He repeats the words in his head like a mantra as he drops again into a fighting stance.

Everything stops when Dudley topples forward and lands directly on his face.

"Whoops, you seem to have fallen over," says an amused looking Tom, having snuck up behind without any of them even knowing. He's standing exactly where Dudley had been before falling, and it's very clear that he's the one that pushed him. "Interesting quirk," Tom says, now addressing Seamus. "But if the teachers catch you using your quirk like that, you'll probably get expelled." It's a clear threat, but Tom says it casually, like it's a fun fact.

Seamus' hand slowly stops glowing and he helps Dudley back to his feet. "This isn't over," he says to Harry over his shoulder as they walk back towards the hero building.

Tom walks up to the very bewildered Harry. "Back to class, then?" He says, still sounding casual, as if nothing had just happened. Harry just looks back at the dark haired boy, trying to figure him out. He nods dumbly, and they begin to walk back into the support building.

They walk in silence for several seconds before Harry speaks up. "Not to sound ungrateful, but you didn't have to do that."

Tom shrugs. "No, probably not, but at least two on two would have been a fair fight."

He would have fought with me? What Tom just did is the exact sort of thing that Momo would do for him. The exact thing that one friend would do for another. Are we friends? No matter how he looks at it, Harry thinks that somehow, that's what they've become.

"Tom," Harry says.

"Hm?"

"Are you still interested in collaborating?"

The smile on Tom's face as he looks back at him is blinding.


Notes

Sorry I didn't post last week. I've actually decided to post fortnightly, instead of weekly, to give me a chance to work on my other fics as well. From this point on, I'll be posting chapters for this fic every fortnight.

Hope you enjoy!

Review Responses

TheUnhingedAuthor - It certainly won't be explicit, but there will be slash between one character or another.

Wildtrance - He won't offer to do everyone's, but he will certainly be helping some people out. He's got too much of his own stuff to build right at the moment anyway.

Derwyd - I've been deliberately vague about the world. It's hard to have characters with Japanese names living in Britain, and vice versa. I think I've settled on making it a new world altogether, as somewhat of a combination of the two countries. Kind of like how in Big Hero 6 they live in San FranTokyo or whatever. (I might not literally call it something like that, but that's what I'm aiming for). There should be more world building when I have to go to more locations outside of UA.

Thanks for the compliment about characterisation. I'm trying to make them as complex as possible without them seeming bipolar. That said, There are a couple of characters I am trying to make seem slightly unstable, though some of those we haven't met yet.

Rhee-nony M - Thanks very much! I'm glad it's different from most. Surprisingly, I'm also don't really like most twin-fics, but family is a big theme in this fic, and once I came up with Nick and his arc, I couldn't really get rid of him.